the_replacementsfandomcom-20200214-history
The Truth Hurts
250px |-| Title card = |storyboard = Aldin Baroza}}"The Truth Hurts" is the seventh episode of the first season of ''The Replacements''. Synopsis After joining the school newspaper, Riley replaces the journalism teacher with an investigative reporter, who turns the paper into a sleazy tabloid. Plot Riley gets a job on the school newspaper. She’s inspired by the investigative journalist Amanda McMurphy, and her book, Anything For the Truth. At school, she meets Mr. Fraley, her extremely timid journalism teacher. Mr. Fraley fears offending anyone, so he encourages Riley to pursue safe stories, such as “Local Stone Gathers Moss.” Riley thinks the newspaper is “pretty bland,” but she goes out and does her job. She reports on missing toilets, paint drying, and mild weather. The newspaper fails to sell. Riley gets a bag filled with letters. They all came from Mr. Fraley; those boring stories were apparently too much for him. Riley gets frustrated that the journalism teacher is preventing her from being a hard-hitting journalist. She calls Fleemco and has Mr. Fraley replaced with someone like Amanda McMurphy. The Fleemco crew gives Mr. Fraley a job proofreading the phone book. The next day, Riley discovers that Amanda McMurphy herself is the new journalism teacher. The fast-talking McMurphy tells Riley to go out and dig up good stories. Riley investigates Donny corking his shoes at kickball, the lunch lady reusing old tacos to make sloppy joes, and Principal Cutler disguising #1 pencils as #2’s. The paper’s circulation skyrockets. McMurphy then urges Riley to dig up dirt on her classmates. Riley gets the scoop on a love triangle involving Johnny Hitswell, Abbey shopping from the clearance rack, and Tasumi’s secret crush on Jacobo. The paper, which has morphed into a gossip rag, causes a rift between Riley and her friends, but Riley has no regrets. She thinks they don’t understand the importance of reporting the truth. That night, Riley brainstorms ideas for her next article. She sees Todd bringing a pink stuffed elephant to bed, giving Riley her next big scoop. Riley’s new article, “Big Boys Who Still Sleep with Their Toys”, impresses McMurphy, and she tells Riley to get a comment from Todd. Todd can’t believe Riley would be willing to ruin his reputation in order to sell papers. Riley still doesn’t see the big deal. Agent K gives Riley a heart-to-heart talk about telling the truth (while she takes down a Russian spy). Riley learns that protecting an ally can be more important than exposing the truth, and that some secrets should remain secrets, especially among friends. Todd comes to school the next day wearing a disguise. To his surprise, Riley didn’t publish the article. Instead, she wrote an expose on herself. Everyone at school finds out that Riley still has an imaginary friend, among other childish things. McMurphy fires Riley from the paper. Todd thanks Riley, but he doesn't want to be near someone with so many embarrassing secrets. Riley walks away talking to her imaginary unicorn friend. Notes * Amanda McMurphy was never returned to Fleemco; in "Pleasant Hills Confidential", she is still the journalism teacher. * Tasumi's crush on Jacobo is never brought up again until "Irreplaceable", when they start dating. * Donny corking his shoes is a reference to baseball players getting caught corking their bats. Category:Episodes Category:Season One